Here's what happened today in history, lovingly maintained by a history fanatic

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

July 7 in History

1456 - A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death.1534 - European colonization of the Americas: first known exchange between Europeans and natives of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in New Brunswick.1543 - French troops invade Luxembourg.1585 - Treaty of Nemours abolishes tolerance to Protestants in France.1777 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Hubbardton1798 - Quasi-War: the U.S. Congress rescinds treaties with France sparking the 'war.'1799 - Ranjit Singh's men take up their positions outside Lahore.1807 - Napoleonic Wars: Peace of Tilsit between France, Prussia and Russia ends the Fourth Coalition.1846 - Mexican-American War: American troops occupy Monterey and Yerba Buena, thus beginning the United States conquest of California.1863 - United States begins first military draft; exemptions cost $1001865 - American Civil War: four conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln are hanged.1892 - Katipunan: the Revolutionary Philippine Brotherhood is established leading to the fall of the Spanish Empire in Asia.1898 - President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States.1915 - World War I: end of First Battle of the Isonzo.1915 - A Great Gorge and International Railway trolley with an extreme overload of 157 passengers crashes near Queenston, Ontario, killing 15.1917 - Russian Revolution: Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov forms Provisional Government in Russia after the deposing of the Tsar Nicholas II.1928 - Sliced bread is sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri. It is described as “the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped". [1]1930 - Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of the Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam).1937 - Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Lugou Bridge - Japanese forces invade Beijing, China.1941 - World War II: U.S. forces land in Iceland to forestall an invasion by Germany.1941 - World War II: Beirut is occupied by Free France and British troops.1946 - Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini becomes the first American to be canonized.1946 - Howard Hughes nearly dies when his XF-11 spy plane prototype crashes in a Beverly Hills neighborhood.1947 - Alleged and disputed Roswell UFO incident.1953 - Che Guevara sets out on a trip through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador.1954 - Formation of the TANU in Tanzania1956 - Fritz Moravec reaches the peak of Gasherbrum II (8,035 m).1958 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Alaska Statehood Act into United States law.1959 - 14:28 UT Venus occults the star Regulus. This rare event was used to determine the diameter of Venus and the structure of the Venusian atmosphere.1967 - Beginning of the civil war in Biafra.1969 - In Canada, the Official Languages Act is adopted making the French language equal to the English language throughout the Federal government.1978 - The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.1980 - Institution of sharia in Iran.1980 - The Safra massacre in Lebanon.1983 - Cold War: Samantha Smith, a U.S. schoolgirl, flies to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Secretary General Yuri Andropov.1991 - Yugoslav Wars: the Brioni Agreement ends the ten-day independence war in Slovenia against the rest of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.2002 - A scandal breaks out in the United Kingdom when news reports accuse MI6 of sheltering Abu Qatada, the supposed European Al Qaeda leader.2003 - The United Communist Party of Armenia is formed.2005 - A series of four terrorist explosions occur on London's transport system killing 56 people, including four suicide bombers.2005 - Influenced javascript:void(0)Publish Postby Live 8, the G8 leaders pledge to double 2004 levels of aid to Africa from US$25 to US$50 billion by the year 2010.2007 - Pope Benedict XVI issues the Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum, removing restrictions on celebrating the old Tridentine Mass.# 2007 - Worldwide performances by charity event Live Earth